The Planning Commission said on Tuesday that emphasis on inclusiveness by the government should not be misconstrued as dilution of the overall growth agenda and the benefits should percolate to all strata of the society.
Blaming earlier policies for "discriminating" against labour intensive sectors and leading to "significant deceleration" in employment, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Friday
Indian economy grew at a nine-year low rate of 5.3 per cent in January-March quarter in the last financial year and also in the last fiscal at 6.5 per cent.
Amid the controversy raging over the definition of poverty, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday claimed that they have resolved the issue.
This is more than double the money that the state got during the Xth plan.
The tug of war between the finance ministry and the Planning Commission over more resources for plan projects worsened, with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia saying he was keen on getting more money for the 11th Plan.
In an interview to CFO Asia, a publication of The Economist Group, Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the general public was opposed to privatisation of state-owned enterprises although they feel that public sector was inefficient and corrupt.
Ahead of the G-20 Summit, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia will lead a delegation to a preparatory meet on March 11 in London where deliberations on issues like liquidity crunch and reforms in international financial institutions are likely be taken up.
High profile economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday assumed charge as the deputy chairman of Planning Commission.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, had said that stimulus measures need to continue till there is robust recovery in the developed world, which account for bulk of India's exports.
Government and the Planning Commission had earlier projected a growth rate of 9 per cent during 2011-12, up from 8.6 per cent in the previous fiscal.
As China's ruling CPC appointed 'fifth generation' leaders headed by Xi Jinping, high-level Sino-India contacts are set to resume this month starting with the Strategic Economic Dialogue, which would be followed by a likely visit of National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon in Beijing.
Concerned over rising food prices, planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday pitched for increasing supplies through imports and better use of the public distribution system.
The meeting is likely to focus on removing impediments which are hampering implementation of the announced projects and policies which have been on the drawing board for long, official sources said. The social sector agenda of the prime minister includes pushing the Aam Admi Bima Yojana and Old Age Pension for the labour class, besides revamping Integrated Child Development Scheme and strengthening the public distribution system.
The government has plans for the third round of spectrum auction and may put on block 2G GSM airwaves in Delhi and Mumbai circles, and CDMA spectrum in 13 circles that remained unsold in the previous sale held in March, according to sources.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia warned that any extraordinary steps to contain inflation may prove counter-productive.
Differing with International Monetary Fund's growth forecast of 4.9 per cent for India during 2012, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said it has a statistical problem.
Yojana Bhawan is working overtime to complete the crucial Approach paper to the 12th Plan amidst a buzz that Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia may get a Cabinet berth in the reshuffle expected soon.
Batting for the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry, the Planning Commission on Friday said concessions to special economic zones should be at par with those provided to infrastructure projects.\n\n
The Energy Co-ordination Committee, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, would meet on Tuesday with gas pricing, gas sourcing and gas allocation as the main topics on the agenda, an official source said.
In view of declining inflation and recessionary conditions, the Planning Commission expects industry to cut prices in the normal course to battle economic slowdown.
Monsoon has missed its date this year with granary states of Punjab and Haryana.
'We want the PM to be aware of the autocratic behaviour of the bureaucracy,' says CPI leader D Raja.
Students of Kolkata's Presidency College on Saturday hurled eggs and tomatoes at Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to protest price rise while he was leaving a seminar, but missed their target.Eyewitnesses said that student demonstrators belonging to the Students Federation of India, affiliated to the Communist Party of India - Marxist, threw eggs and tomatoes and waved black flags at Ahluwalia as he was leaving a UGC-sponsored national seminar.
Planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday said the government should consider general lowering of duty rates across sectors to avoid creating arbitrage under free trade agreements.
"If half a dozen other developing countries could do it, India can too. There are some things we need to do and if we do them right, there should be no doubt about achieving the projected growth rates," Ahluwalia said.
Those who have been following developments in the past few years know that Wal-Mart alone must have spent millions of dollars in India for lobbying with our government to open up retail sector for FDI.
Concerned over sluggish growth and poor investment climate, Assocham President Rajkumar Dhoot met Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Thursday and demanded the controversial tax proposal GAAR be put in 'cold storage'.
"This year, at the Planning Commission, we expect growth rate will be around 8 per cent. We are not expecting 9 per cent in the year 2011-12," Ahluwalia said while speaking at the convocation ceremony at Vijna Jyothy Institute of Management.
The industrial growth number for the month of December has been revised upward to 2.53 per cent from the provisional number of 1.6 per cent released earlier.
The Planning Commission on Saturday sought to play down fears that the hike in excise duty on petroleum products would lead to a surge in inflation.
The economy will turn the corner in the next six months as the deceleration of the past several quarters has been arrested, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Monday.
A good wheat crop this season is likely to ease the near double digit inflation in the next 2-3 months, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month had said inflation would moderate to 5-6 per cent by the end of the calender year.
The Planning Commission has pitched for linking of domestic fuel prices with those in the international market saying it is necessary for country's global "economic reputation".
The Planning Commission in its draft approach paper to the 11th five year plan would stress on doubling agricultural growth and bridging regional imablances among other things.
The Planning Commission on Tuesday said that inflation is not coming down as expected and it would be little higher than earlier forecast of close 6 per cent for the month of December.
Stock markets might be tumbling like ninepins but India's policy planners feel the crash on the bourses is just in line with global trends and the economy is not overheated, as all macro indicators remain strong.
The country's economic growth hit a decade low of 5 per cent in the last fiscal on account of poor performance in the farm, manufacturing and mining sectors.
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